Oak Ridge commissioners reflect on ‘In God We Trust’

Throughout the emotionally charged debate over placing the national motto, “In God We Trust,” on the Anderson County Courthouse, four members of the Anderson County Commission — all from Oak Ridge — voiced concerns about the proposal.

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By The Associated Press

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By The Associated Press

Posted Jul. 30, 2013 at 6:33 PM

By The Associated Press

Posted Jul. 30, 2013 at 6:33 PM

CLINTON

Throughout the emotionally charged debate over placing the national motto, “In God We Trust,” on the Anderson County Courthouse, four members of the Anderson County Commission — all from Oak Ridge — voiced concerns about the proposal.

During discussions that spanned three Commission meetings and two committee sessions, those commissioners — Myron Iwanksi, Jerry Creasey, Robin Biloski and Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock — publicly fretted about possible repercussions and sought approval of a compromise on the issue.

Now that the motto and remarks made during its dedication Tuesday have spurred legal action, three of those four commissioners — Iwanski, Biloski and Creasey — on Thursday reflected on their original unease over the move to post the motto.

“It was very stressful,” said Biloski. “I was asked how could I not support something like this,” she said. “People were calling me an atheist, and I’m not an atheist.

“I’m proud of my faith, but it is personal,” she said.

Biloski said the possibility of legal action being filed over the proposal “was a continual thought on my mind.”

The day after Tuesday’s dedication of the placement of the motto over one doorway that featured remarks by Baptist pastors, a criminal defendant filed a motion in Anderson County Criminal Court seeking to have his attempted first-degree murder charge dismissed.

Kenneth Darrin Fisher argues that the dedication ceremony effectively converted the courthouse into a “temple of fundamentalist Christianity.” He contends his constitutional right to freedom of worship has been violated, and the government has endorsed a “fundamentalist view of Christianity.”

Fisher is of Cherokee descent and follows the “Red Road” path of American Indian spirituality, according to the motion.

Shortly before the dedication ceremony, Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager warned in a memo to commissioners that any dedication event that offered only Christian prayers could “produce unwarranted legal challenges at the expense of our taxpayers.”

Biloski said she became concerned in February by the way the plan was pushed through Commission.

Biloski said Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank “put it on the (Commission) agenda. The process by which it was brought forth made me very uncomfortable,” Biloski said.

Creasey agreed.

“The concern was bypassing the committee procedure,” he said. “I felt such a move (putting the motto on the Courthouse) could have the potential for large consequences and should be debated in committee.”

A standing-room-only crowd overwhelmingly in favor of the move was in attendance at the initial meeting.

In later meetings, Creasey said, “It appeared that it was religious-driven, and I had a concern that we might be crossing the line in the separation of church and state.”

Page 2 of 2 - Iwanski said he, too, was worried about the “very contentious way” the proposal was brought up. “It contributed to the perception that it was done for religious rather than patriotic reasons,” Iwanksi said.

Creasey said he backed a compromise to put the national motto over one courthouse doorway and other familiar sayings over the other three entrances.

See ‘GOD,’ Page 2A

Iwanski suggested placing the state’s motto, “Agriculture and Commerce,” along with “E pluribus unum” (Out of Many, One), and “Liberty and Justice for All” over the remaining three Courthouse entrances.

Iwanski’s “compromise,” however, was defeated in March in an 8-7 vote. A nine-vote majority was needed for passage.

The final vote on the controversy came in April, and the move to put the motto over all four Courthouse doors passed with 14 in favor, while Creasey and Hitchcock abstained. Biloski said then she voted in favor of the motion “as a gesture of good faith to show I want to get back to business.”

“My votes were never against ‘In God We Trust,’” Creasey said. “It was against the procedure at first, and then it was for the compromise.”

Iwanski said the Criminal Court motion filed Wednesday may portend the potential for other lawsuits.

“It just raises concerns even if there are cases that aren’t very strong,” he said. “We are going to have to defend this and it’s going to cost us money and time.”